Pitbull Shot by Waterloo Police Officer

WATERLOO, Iowa – A Waterloo police officer said he was forced to shoot a dog that attacked him.

The incident happened Tuesday as the officer was directing traffic for a tractorcade traveling through town.

The officer said three dogs rushed him and he shot one, a pit bull called Gixxer.

The dog’s owner says the dogs are trained to stay in the yard but the excitement of the tractorcade crowds distracted them and they ran.

The officer felt threatened and shot the dog in the head. It survived and is receiving treatments.

“I don’t blame [the officer] for his actions,” the dog’s owner Zachary Tolias told KWWL. “Everybody has their own levels of intimidation and being scared but his reaction was above and beyond what it should have been.”

Tolias added that he plans to ask the city or police force to pay for the surgery bills which are already up to nearly $4,000.

14 comments

Lizbit

The officer’s reaction was not out of line. The dogs were trained to stay in the yard? Well, they did not, so they were not reliably trained. The excuse that they were over-excited is lame–there is no predicting what an animal will or will not do and for that reason, they should have been confined in a manner that left no possibility that they would leave the yard. The OWNER is at fault for the animal’s death. It’s time people owned up to their own responsibilities and quit trying to find a scapegoat for whatever the problem du jour may be.

Mike

Unless the dog bit him, the officers actions are over the line! I didn’t see in the article where anyone said that the dog actually bit the officer. Plus, is the officer not capable of protecting himself any other way but using deadly force? Since the dog did not bite him, at what point did the office feel his life was in danger?

none

Seriously? The officer should wait to see if he gets attacked before taking action? Wow. It’s a stupid dog, if he felt even the least bit threatened he was justified in shooting it. If it were me there wouldn’t have been the chance for medical bills, the dog would have been permanently down.

PERSON AGAINST STUPIDITY

IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE BREED. Every dog can be mean and attack people. It depends on how your dog is trained. To me it depends on how the dog is running up to be if hes showing teeth and barking. Yeah I have no problem shooting the dog. I hate ignorant people who say oh its pitbull so its naturally mean. NO a dog is how it is raised. PERIOD. So go get educated ROCCOB. Im not saying the officer wasnt justified, unlike all of you I will not voice an opionion unless I actually there or knew the animals.

katizmy5

KN Black

I agree, and he should have taken aim at the other two. If any one was hit by accident by this police officer then the owner of the dog should be held responsible. I have been involved in a dog pack attack and the family dogs involved were killing feeder pigs as fast as they could. I started to intervene and they came at me. I backed off and called the farmer. His quick action with a rifle stopped this fast. He knew the owners, neighbor farmers, and they were surprised their nice dogs had taken up a new hobby. The dog packs are not the domestic dogs any more. They still have a few wolf genes enough to justify this cops action.

The dogs were out of their yard. the officer was being charged by THREE dogs. He had every right to shoot if he felt threatened. If one of these ‘over excited’ ‘trained to stay in the yard’ dogs had attacked a child, you would all be throwing a fit that the officer hadn’t shot the dog when it charged. NO WAY is the police department liable for that dog’s surgery. They will pay it though because cops can’t win. If you don’t want your dogs hurt, don’t let them run loose. Our dog is always 1) in the house 2) in her fenced in yard which she cannot escape 3) on a leash. If she did somehow get out and attack someone, it would be our fault, not hers, not people at a parade, OURS as her owners. As her owners and guardians, it is our responsibility to keep her from being in a situation where she presents a danger to herself or others. If you want a pet, take responsibility. The owner should have had the dogs better secured.

Justin

What a surprise. Every dog owner gives the same excuses every time something like this happens. Nobody wants to see their dog shot of course but you run the risk of stuff like this happening when you ILLEGALLY allow your dogs to run off leash. This is a clear case of a delusional owner. Dogs were not trained. Almost all dog owners are delusional about the quality and obedience of their dogs.